[juliem]

Does anybody switch their water off that goes to fields for the winter..lots of stop taps all over the place including barns...-5 tomorrow night,
I was told water will only freeze in a barn where there is a draught blowing onto the water pipe directly....pipes are lagged.
Water to fields underground....but obviously pipes come up to automatic water tanks. Nothing in the fields ..only a few sheep.
It's mains water and not on any kind of meter.

[Buttermilk]

We normally do but the stop tap was frozen today when I remembered to do it so still not done.

[sabrina]

I turn mine off, the tap is in the building but does freeze. I put it on again each day to fill up the troughs in the paddocks if the weather is not too bad. Ponies are only out for a short time each day so drink more inside anyway.

[juliem]

I suppose what I am trying to say is ...is there any advantage in turning stop tap off if water is in the pipe then it will freeze anyway Or is there someway I can drain the water out of the pipe at the automatic water trough by pressing ball valve down to get as much water out of the pipe.Then when the frozen water in the pipe does melt.....there might not be so much pressure to burst any joints
Its all fairly new plastic pipe..but am I right in thinking the trough is vulnerable?
We have had several mild winters here in Shropshire...don't want to become too complacent

[chrismahon]

Turning the water off and taking out the pressure will reduce the risk of a burst Juliem. Even better if you can drain off the water above ground. When the water freezes it expands and bursts occur between two freezing points because of the pressure built up there. Often outside taps freeze evenly backwards into the wall or ground and therefore don't burst. Insulation, if badly fitted, can make the risk of a burst higher as it can create two freezing points.


Plastic pipe will freeze a bit slower than copper, but it isn't as strong so a burst is just as likely. I went to an unheated property with a mixture of copper and plastic pipes and all the bursts were in the plastic sections.

[Buttermilk]

A burst away down the fields can be some time before being discovered.  Much water may have flowed in the meantime creating a boggy, soggy mess.

[juliem]

Thanks for all the advice everyone...I had not realized the pipes  burst between 2 freezing points.
I have turned off all stop taps with help of some WD40.Just as well we only have sheep in the fields...and not horses/cattle. I remember when we had some  freezing weather some 7/8 years ago and we were renting with  horses in the fields..bit of a nightmare.